A dispute over President Donald Trump at an Ohio dog park spiraled from a verbal clash into a gunfight in April, leaving a Marine veteran gravely wounded and both participants facing criminal charges.

David Mattai, 55, was at Centerville Mills Dog Park in Bainbridge with his Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Bob, when he overheard 80-year-old Emmanuel “Mike” Mathews discussing Trump with another dog owner. Mathews, a Trump supporter, called Trump “the best president in history.” Mattai, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, joined the conversation and countered that Trump was “the worst president in history,” according to The New York Times.

The exchange escalated into a shouting match, and witness Jamie Jedlinsky said the two men eventually yelled at each other to “shut up.” Mattai walked away at first but returned when Bob began whining, and the confrontation reignited.

This time, Mathews insulted Mattai’s mother, prompting Mattai to reach across a fence and grab Mathews by the hair. Jedlinsky stepped in to separate them, but as the men walked toward their cars, he heard Mattai reference firearms, saying, “Oh you’ve got one? I’ve got one, too.”

Mathews retrieved a .45-caliber handgun and fired first, striking Mattai in the lower back. A second pull of the trigger failed to fire. Mattai then grabbed a 9-millimeter pistol and fired at least four rounds at Mathews as he drove away, hitting his vehicle but missing him.

The bullet that struck Mattai tore through his intestines and fractured his spine. He endured two surgeries, two weeks in the hospital, and months of rehabilitation. He now walks with a limp and says he can no longer return to his job as a forklift mechanic.

Mathews told police he believed his life was in danger and claimed Mattai had head-butted him before the shooting. Mattai denied head-butting Mathews, though he acknowledged grabbing his hair.

Mathews has been charged with second-degree felon assault, a felony that carries a maximum prison term of eight years under Ohio law, and has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Ian Friedman, intends to argue self-defense under Ohio’s stand-your-ground law, which removes the duty to retreat before using force in self-defense, with a trial scheduled for February — the next major milestone in the case, when that self-defense claim will be weighed in court. Mattai, meanwhile, faces misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct charges tied to the alleged head-butt and could receive up to six months in jail, leaving both criminal matters unresolved.

The Times also reported that Mattai claimed to have served 10 years in the Marines, though official records show his service lasted less than a year. He later admitted embellishing his military record and issued an apology.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Mattai said he poured out his vodka, discarded his political bumper stickers, and resolved to stop confronting strangers over politics. “I got my own life sentence from this,” he said.